Rick Melby - Glass

I started my odyssey in glass in 1976, when I was introduced to stained glass. After ten years of working in several studios and executing many commissions in leaded glass, I branched out to explore lighting. Using many of the techniques I had learned in the leaded glass business, I designed and created a variety of lit objects. In 1985, I took my first glass blowing lessons, and quickly incorporated that technique into my lighting designs. This lead to me to acquiring a kiln in 1990, in which to fuse and slump glass, which in turn opened up a whole other world of possibilities for my artwork.

From a design aspect, I draw from all sorts of sources. I am fluent in most major design movements, and while I tend to favor more contemporary styles, I am a big fan of Mid Century, Art Deco, Post-Modernism, Low Brow, Pop and Bauhaus, to name a few. I am also a big proponent of re-cycling and up-cycling, using found objects to flesh out my creations.

I grew up in a military family, and moved a bit as a child. We finally settled in Florida in the early 1960s, and I was given the opportunity to live a couple of blocks from the Atlantic Ocean. We were also living very close to Cape Canaveral during the height of the Space Race, which pleased me to no end. I moved to Tampa, Florida in 1970 to go to college, but was totally unsure of what to do with my life. The years in college luckily did not impede my education. After living in Tampa for 25 years, I moved to Asheville, North Carolina, to continue my career in the mountains. Living there for 13 years, I met my wife, Michelle Funk, and was married to her in 2007. We moved to Peoria in 2010, with our dogs, Maisey and Stella.

Currently, I work out of my studio at home, as well as at Toraason Glass, where I exhibit much of my work.